3 – Urban Legends are Scary~

On a foggy day, dawn in Seoul becomes a place where death and fear, rather than humans, linger.

People hide themselves inside their homes, wrapping themselves in blankets to force sleep that won’t come, drawing the curtains to avoid even a glance from the creatures outside.

The only thing they can trust is the very thin and transparent Protective Spell that guards the safe zone.

However, the sense of relief it provides is merely a faint comfort, and as the night deepens, the fog grows thicker.

The most terrifying thing is that something is writhing within the fog.

At first, they made no sound, but their mere presence stirred the darkness and fear within humans.

Some call it Weirdness.

Some call it nightmares.

Some refer to it as Creepypasta or urban legends.

Some say it is the primal fear bestowed upon humanity by the gods as punishment.

~♬

Yet, they missed something.

It may not be as intense as the midday sun, nor as violent as a thunderstorm hidden behind clouds, but a small and pure sound that could drive away this darkness and fear is hiding in the city.

Jaehee gently caressed the strings of the Violin.

As her delicate fingers played the strings, a perfect melody began to flow, as if activated by a recording device.

The melody was kind and soft, yet it also carried a sense of greed.

“This is my world.”

So there is no room for you to share.

Please, just go away.

In that whispering melody, there was a sense of contempt and disgust.

A heartfelt hatred from the Succubus Empress for everything that is not beautiful.

To be despised by the embodiment of beauty, they deserve to die.

• Puh!

• Thud!

“Kyyaaaah!”

“Gyaakakakakak!”

The Weirdness initially approached, drawn by the sweet and enchanting scent and melody.

They looked so sweet and delicious that they swallowed them whole.

No, even if they didn’t swallow them, the melody of vitality controlled by the Succubus Empress physically penetrated the bodies of the Weirdness and nightmares.

Thus, Jaehee, dressed in a suit, gestured with her nobility shining even in the darkness.

The lament of execution.

A dirge for the grotesque and ugly.

~♬♪♬♩♩♪♬♪

Calmly, she played the Violin resting on her shoulder.

The vitality that had penetrated the creatures thrashed about.

The music gradually transformed.

From the scent of allure to the song of death.

A lament to despise those who rightfully deserve contempt, living off fear.

The piece being played by the Succubus Empress was like a wave of death, infused with her vitality, soul, and immense life force.

The melody swelled.

The bodies of the Weirdness twisted uncontrollably.

Flesh and bone burst out without a scream.

They initially tried to resist.

However, as the music played and the melody adorned the night sky of the city, their resistance was buried without meaning, and their bodies were torn apart.

—That woman!

—That woman!

—Catch her and kill her!

—Tear her apart!

—Eat! Eat! Eat!

—Tear the sky!

—Boil! Boil! Boil!

—Eat the tongue! Cut off the tongue and eat it!

The Weirdness, having recognized the owner of the sound, approached through the fog.

Flesh, streetlights, branches, centipedes, snakes from caves, and a man with a boiled face rushed toward Jaehee with burst hands and spikes on their flesh.

Toward her.

Toward that arrogant Empress who despises us.

They would tear apart that arrogance.

They would trample that arrogant beauty to death.

They would boil and devour that arrogant Empress!

However, regardless of that, Jaehee kept her eyes closed, focusing solely on her performance.

Even as the nearby Weirdness approached and burst.

As the vitality condensed within the bodies of the creeping things burst forth, it bloomed like a flower.

As the melody extending from Jaehee’s fingertips struck the bodies of the Weirdness and nightmares, their flesh bloomed vividly and splendidly like flowers.

It was as if the seeds were bursting forth using their bodies as fertilizer.

Flesh and bone bloomed alongside blood, and the petals of the fully bloomed flowers crumbled and disappeared into the fog.

“Oh, how beautiful!”

~♪

Jaehee and the Violin sang in unison.

The gasps of young girls could be heard.

Only then did the Empress, satisfied with the grotesque things that had fulfilled their beauty, smile.

Red flowers bloomed everywhere.

The ominous and thick fog painted the world in rosy hues, as if mixed with red paint. The blood and corpses of the Weirdness momentarily took the shape of a spire made of red flowers.

Soon, the wind blew.

As a wind blew away the thick scent of blood, the flowers of flesh and blood vanished without a trace.

What remained was only emptiness and the echoes of death.

The things that brought the fog disappeared before they could even taste human fear.

Before they could hide in the darkness and alleys of this city to claim new victims, they all turned into flowers and vanished.

The only ones left alive in the fog were Jaehee and her Violin.

People trembled in fear yet listened to that sound.

For silence tends to evoke a deeper fear.

“Mom… I hear something.”

“Shh, hush!”

“It’s the sound of a Violin…”

The piece being played was one that those who knew it recognized, and even those who didn’t had likely heard it at least once.

Frédéric Chopin, Piano Sonata No. 2.

Outside the window, the thick fog continued to dance in the darkness.

Yet the sound was so beautiful and sweet that… people unconsciously approached the window.

In fact, it would be okay to open the window.

The Protective Spell was still active.

People were merely trembling in fear of the Weirdness.

However, tonight, it was not humans trembling, but the beautiful and enchanting melody that engulfed the city.

The piano sonata, commonly used as a dirge, was played with the Violin’s delicate yet sharp melody.

The Weirdness riding the fog were all led away by the Violin’s melody.

Then it happened.

From the darkness came the faint sound of the Violin, accompanied by the sound of flesh bursting.

At first, it seemed like an illusion, but the sound grew clearer.

The melody was beautiful yet sorrowful.

It felt like a lament, and yet it also felt like contempt.

“Oh…”

People opened the curtains, opened the windows, and reached out their hands, not knowing what might emerge from beyond the fog.

Because the melody was so beautiful.

Even while feeling a fear that froze their entire being, they could not reject the alluring melody.

Though it was merely the sound of a Violin, it was a fantastical melody that comforted human souls while simultaneously enchanting them.

Every family.

Every single man.

Every young female student trembling alone in her one-room apartment.

A woman in her twenties, wrapped in a blanket and trembling, gazed at the melody beyond the fog with a rapturous expression.

Her house was very close to the sound of the Violin, so she could see the Weirdness paralyzed by the melody, their flesh bursting in response.

At first, she froze at the grotesque and terrifying sight of the Weirdness approaching in a group through the fog, but as the sound of the Violin intensified, it struck her ears.

At that moment, the woman felt it.

This was not just music.

No one among the ordinary citizens could see the face of the performer.

The fog was thick, and the Weirdness was still terrifying, so they lacked the courage to gaze directly through the fog.

However, the melody seemed to clearly convey this message.

For all the beautiful things in the world.

And to despise all the ugly things in the world.

Fortunately, people were assured that this sound at least did not regard humans as ugly.

Otherwise, it could not sound so beautiful to human ears.

“It’s a person.”

A woman appeared from beyond the fog.

At first, there was doubt.

Then came awe.

Dressed in a beautifully tailored suit with no exposure, adorned with splendid and large demonic wings that could be deemed beautiful.

The woman living alone watched the scene, unable to take her eyes off it.

Her gaze was a mix of fear and awe.

On one hand, she was terrified, but on the other, she was overwhelmed by the sight before her.

The woman playing the Violin was not human.

Yet, she was bringing an end to this dreadful night.

Driving away the grotesque, for the sake of humanity’s good dreams.

Finally, the Weirdness bloomed and burst forth like flowers.

Flesh burst forth and bloomed with blood. The fully bloomed petals scattered into the fog.

Everything disappears.

“…Ah.”

Before long, all humans felt the stillness of the city.

Everyone’s hearts were racing as if they would burst, yet everything was so quiet that the sound could not be heard.

All humans enchanted by the melody still stood at their windows.

And the Succubus Empress finished her performance, drawing out the final melody.

Gratitude to all who listened up to this point.

Praise for all who could still be beautiful.

“So tonight, may everyone have good dreams.”

As those words accompanied the end of the performance, people finally could breathe again.

A performance that ended in an instant.

It was splendid yet serene.

“…What was that sound…?”

“What was that voice just now…?”

“Oh, just hearing the voice is beautiful…”

“Who is it? An Awakened? A Hunter? Who could it be…?”

Though it was clearly a woman’s voice, it felt like it could enchant even those of the same gender.

In an instant, Jaehee ended everything and vanished as if nothing had happened.

Since no one recognized the identity of the Violinist before the performance ended, some sighed in disappointment.

Some shouted for her to please play again.

However, one thing was certain.

Tonight.

There would be no nightmares or Weirdness hiding in the city.

What remained was the dreams of humans.

The world of those who must spend a good night.

People were filled with awe and admiration.

“Wow, wow… Who on earth is she?”

“Who could it be?”

“I want to see her.”

“I want to meet her at least once.”

Though there were many who were captivated and cheered, at the same time, some felt fear.

Because this power did not belong to humans.

With just sound, she had entranced and burst the Weirdness into flowers of flesh and blood.

The fog dispersed, and the city grew quiet, so what if this person, instead of driving away the Weirdness, harbored ill intentions?

…How terrifying and dreadful would that be?

“…Come on.”

A young woman in her twenties, living alone, trembled as she curled back into her blanket.

What was this trembling?

Was it admiration for the beauty of the melody?

Was it a thrill from the momentary sound of the Succubus Empress’s voice?

Or was it pure fear and dread?

Sleep was impossible, but still wanting to escape reality, she closed her eyes.

There was still a long time left until dawn.

“…Ah, I can’t sleep.”

Of course, her heart was racing so much that she couldn’t possibly sleep, so the woman eventually opened a community forum.

The entire city was buzzing.

[Wow, what was that sound?]

• I was lying down after taking a sleep aid, but I really felt enchanted.

• Those damn Weirdness were all killed.

• They burst into flower shapes right in front of me.

• You too?

• Seriously, what is this? The sound is insane.

[The Weirdness that were pressing their faces against the window all burst after hearing that music.]

• There are a ton of those near my house too.

[What the hell is this?]

[Who is this Violinist?]

• Seriously.

[S-Class Hunter? I’ve never heard of a Hunter who does something with sound…?]

• There are rumors about a first-generation Hunter.

• Didn’t all the first-generation ones emigrate?

• There are some who didn’t, though.

As expected, the internet was noisy.

Because of the chilling yet enchanting melody of the Violin that saved the city.

However, the level of noise was not just a little loud.

“Our daughter… do you want to sleep early tonight?”

“Why?”

“Mom and Dad… haah, we need to exercise a bit…”

“Exercise? At this hour?”

People, without realizing it, became excited by the sound and spent time with family and loved ones.

“Haah, haah… Professor Baek…”

“Seonwoo, we shouldn’t be doing this…”

Some who were not doing that suddenly began to move their hands busily to relieve their heated bodies and desires.

Why is it like this today?

They should just quietly sleep…

Ah, honey, I’m sorry.

We shouldn’t be doing this as a family… today feels strange.

Some were cuddling with their lovers, wives, or husbands.

Others were enchanted by the sound, unable to care about their physical arousal.

[Please please please please play again, please please please]

• I’ll hold my breath until you play again, huff!

• Huh!

• Me too, 333

• Huff!

[What’s that voice? What’s that voice? What’s that voice? What’s that voice? What’s that voice? What’s that voice? What’s that voice? What’s that voice? What’s that voice? What’s that voice? What’s that voice? What’s that voice? What’s that voice? What’s that voice?]

• Voice?

• Music?

• What’s that music…?

People wouldn’t make such a fuss over just the sound of a Violin.

After all, it was the Empress of Succubi.

The embodiment of beauty.

It was a melody played to despise the ugly.

The will contained in the melody was to annihilate and burst the ugly.

And that was heard by humans.

By the city.

By all those hidden in the streets.

Though it was not a murderous intent directed at them, all those who could not sleep were enchanted.

Of course, Jaehee had no such intention.

If anything, it was merely humans greedily enchanted by discovering something beautiful.

“Ha ha ha, seeing the city covered in flowers makes me feel refreshed.”

Of course, Jaehee had no thoughts.

“How about it? Do you all like it? Isn’t it beautiful?”

—■■■■■■■~!

The souls of young girls cheered.

The boiling hearts of boys were satisfied.

The small concert in the middle of the city became a great comfort to them, so Jaehee decided to be content with this for tonight.

“Haah, but I’m a bit hungry.”

The melody spread far beyond Jaehee’s control.

Next time, she should probably hold back a bit.

It seems she used too much vitality and life force…

“I think I’ll need to have a meal soon.”

What would be good for a meal?

It seems that Dan Ayeon would be the best choice…